Improved stone-gatherer



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Y JQL. QUINBY. 0E PLEASANT GEovE, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPRovl-:DfsropNE-eATH ERER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,566fdated May 2, 1865; antedated April 26,

To all whom 'it may concern: y'

Be it known that I, J osIAH L. QUINBY, of Pleasant Grove, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Machinefor Gathering vention, taken in the line w a2, Fig. 2; Fig. 2,

a plan or top view of the same; Fig. 3, a view of a portion of the back of the receiving-box pertaining to the same. 1

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Thisinvention relates to a new and improved machine for gathering stones from a field and depositing them in a proper receptacle from which they may be readily discharged at the will of the driver. A

The invention consists in the employment or use of a revolving toothedcylinder andan endless apron, said parts being arranged, operated, and 4'applied to a mounted frame, as hereinafter described and used, in connection with a stone-receiving box suspended in the mounted frame, and provided with a hinged tail-board and hinged bottom havingr a peculiar fastening, which may be operated bythe driver from his seat to admit of the stone being discharged at any desired point or place.

' To enable those skilled in the art to fully` understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.-

A represents a rectangular frame, which is mounted on two wheels, B B',the latter being at the back part of the frame and placed loosely Y on a fixed axle, C. The wheel B has a toothed wheel, D, attached concentrcally to it at its inner side.

E is a shaft, which is placed transversely on the frame A just 1n front of the 4axle C, and has a pinion, F, at one end of it. The bearing a of this shaft, which is near the pinion'F, is Y a sliding one, and it is connected by a rod, b, wth a lever, c, which is underneath a platform, d, on the frame A,- and works on a fulcrum-pin, e. The inner end of thelever c is connected by a rod,f, with a lever, G, which is attached to a shaft, H, underneath the platform d, the lever extending up through a slot,

g, in the platform. By drawing the llever` G. backward the bearing a of the shaft E will be moved forward and the pinion F thrown out of gear with the wheel D, and by shoving said lever forward the pinion F will be thrown in gear with the wheel I). A'I he lever G is rctained in aforward and backward position by catches-h h, arranged in any proper way.

I I representtwo parallel bars, the back ends of which are attached' by pivot-bolts 'i to the frame A, one ateach side of it. Between the front parts of these bars I I there is fitted a shaft, J, which is allowed to turn freely, andV on this shaft J and the shaft Ethere is fitted un endless apron, K, formed of two chains, j j, with transverse slats k attached to them, the slats being' provided with teeth l. Between the front parts of the bars I I, directly in front' of the shaft J, there is a scoop, L.

M M are two bar's or arms, the back ends of which are attached to the frame A by the same l pivot-bolts, i, which attach the bars I tothe frame A. Between the front ends of the bars or arms M M there is itteda cylinder, `N,'hav ing its periphery provided with teeth m. At each en'd of the cylinder N there is a pulley, n, around'which cross cords or belts n* pass, said cords or belts also passing around 4pulleys o o at the ends of the shaft E. 4 The shaft H, to which the lever` G is at tached, has a pulley, or part pulley, p, at each end of it, and the bars 1 I and arms M M are connected tothe pulleys or part pulleys pp by means of cords q. l i

`From the above description it will be seen that as the machine is drawn along the endless apron K will be moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 1, while the toothed cylinder N willbe'rotated in the direction indicated by the'arrow 2, andk with a quicker speed than it would have if it received its motion by contact with the earth. The scoop L rests upon the ground,'while the teeth of the cylinder N act upon lthe ground and loosen the stones embodied in it, so that-the scoop L 'will' raise them upon the lower end of the apron K, which conveys them into a box orreceiver, 0,.

at the back part ofthe frame A.

At any time when 1t is desired to render the www..

machine inoperative `the driver from his seat P draw's'back the lever G, andthereby throws the pinion F ont of'gear with the wheel D, and at the same time causes the scoop L and cylinder N to be raised free from the ground.

The box or stone-receiver O is provided with a ntail-board, Q, the hinges r of which are at itsiupper edge. The bottom s ofthe box or receiver is connected at its frontA edge to the bottom of the front side of the box or receiver by hinges t, (see Fig. 1,) and the bottom s and tail-board Q are held in a proper closed state by clasps R R, the lower en'ds of which are connected by hinges or joints u to the back edge ofthe bottom s. The clasps R are each slotted near their upper ends to allow short arms v c, which are connected byjoints w wto the tail-board, to pass through, and these arms u are secured or held in an upright position to the tai1-board by means of a shaft,S,attached to the tail-board, said shaft having its parts which iit over the arms v bent in crank form,

as shown at a. (See Fig. 3.) This shaft S also has an arm, b', to which a cord, c', is attached', which leads to the drivers seat P, and the driver at any time, when desired, by pulling the cord c', may turn the shaft S, and

thereby release the arms v v and. clasps R R, so that the bottom s will drop and the tailboard Q left. free to swing out and the stone 'allowed to drop for passout from the box or receiver 0. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,'is v l. The4 endless apron K, in connection with the rotating toothed cylinder N and the scoop L, arranged with the bars I I and arms M M, applied to the mounted frame A, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The shaft H, the bars I I, arms M M, and cords q, in combination with the lever d, bearing a, shaft E and lever G, all arranged substantially as s own.

- JOSIAH L. QUINBY. Witnesses: k

GRANVILLE B. Woon, ANDREW LEWIS. 

